Discussions about suspected fraud in Europe in July

Ethylene oxide, Sudan dyes and products skipping border controls are examples of recent potential fraud and other non-compliance raised by EU Member States.

The number of suspicions of food and other fraud discussed by European countries increased in July. The number of 325 alerts is up from 265 in June and 281 in May, similar to 341 in April, 345 in March and 318 in February. In January there were 277.

The issues identified are potential fraud. Mentioned cases of non-compliance may lead to investigations by authorities in EU Member States. Details come from a monthly report published by the European Commission.

Data includes suspected cross-border fraud topics shared between members of the Alert and Cooperation Network (ACN) and sourced from the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF), the Administrative Assistance and Cooperation Network (AAC) and the Agri-Food Fraud Network (FFN).

It covers food, feed, materials that come into contact with food, animal welfare for farm animals, plant protection products and veterinary products that end up as residues and contaminants in food and feed.

The aim is to help national authorities set up risk-based controls to combat fraudulent and deceptive practices, assist the food sector with vulnerability assessments and identify emerging risks.

A total of 86 notices mentioned fruit and vegetables, the majority of which were non-compliant due to pesticide residues. Diet foods, supplements and fortified foods come in second place with 51 warnings. Grains and bakery products rose to third place, while herbs and spices fell to fourth place.

Most problems came to light through border inspections or market controls. Three were based on information from whistleblowers, 17 were found after consumer complaints and 21 were found after a company’s internal audit.

Selection of issues raised

In July, nine warnings concerned the United States. These included an unlicensed operator of fish oil capsules, sunset yellow in corn snacks, tartrazine in pickled cucumbers and several cases of unauthorized ingredients in supplements, with 1,3-dimethylamylamine (DMAA) in one incident.

Cases of product manipulation included ascorbic acid in Spanish tuna, poultry DNA in Polish pork sausages and ethylene oxide in Indian products.

Sudan dyes were found in palm oil from Ghana, chili powder from Afghanistan and curry from Turkey. The irradiation of spice powder from Germany and chili powder from the Netherlands was also noted.

Record fraud incidents include organic claims and a lack of traceability on organic wine from Germany, misleading information about the origin of paprika powder from Spain, the quality of olive oil from Turkey, a non-compliant shelf life for frozen mechanically separated meat from the Netherlands, and a range health claims.

Other issues raised included weaknesses in the traceability of eggs from Poland, meat from a horse from Ireland that was unfit for consumption after slaughter due to phenylbutazone, and the movement of pig skins from an area where African swine fever is restricted, without certificate and quality marks in Romania.

Unregistered food supplement companies were identified in Slovenia and Poland, while in Lithuania unregistered products were sold online. An unauthorized ground (minced) meat company was reported in Belgium. One warning concerned olives from Egypt that had passed their expiration date.

Three reports related to the transport temperature of various products from Romania and Albania and frozen meat from the Netherlands.

Several non-compliance cases listed ingredients not allowed in the EU and pesticides above maximum residue limits (MRL). Other warnings were due to traceability issues or products failing border controls.

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